Latest / Big Talk About Small Business / Ep. 10 - Opportunities in the Music Industry

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Ep. 10 - Opportunities in the Music Industry · Big Talk About Small Business

0:04
SPEAKER_06: Hey everybody, we're back again.
0:06
SPEAKER_06: My co-host Eric Howerton and myself Mark Zweig.
0:11
SPEAKER_06: And this is another episode of Big Talk About Small Business.
0:18
SPEAKER_06: It's Bitness.
0:20
SPEAKER_06: We went through this last time, Mark.
0:22
SPEAKER_04: It says business.
0:24
SPEAKER_04: That's true.
0:24
SPEAKER_06: That's true.
0:26
SPEAKER_06: But I guess I can say bidness.
0:27
SPEAKER_06: Hey, before we get going today, uh can you tell us about RV's?
0:31
SPEAKER_06: Um well I'm wearing some on my shirt.
0:34
SPEAKER_06: For those of you who are watching this.
0:36
SPEAKER_06: I was gonna ask you, like, did I juice Phil own the shirt today?
0:40
SPEAKER_06: They say they have the meat at RV's, but I'm not sure exactly what that was I ate for lunch.
0:46
SPEAKER_06: Um it was the juice though.
0:49
SPEAKER_06: They got the juice, that that's for sure.
0:51
SPEAKER_06: So there was something sort of unidentifiable that um was in between two halves of a bun.
0:56
SPEAKER_04: But um, so do you advise folks that are in a rush in business to like stop by RV's, grab you a little something quick, and keep driving to your next appointment?
1:04
SPEAKER_06: No, maybe you do better with some uh uh chicken McNuggets or something.
1:10
SPEAKER_02: No.
1:11
SPEAKER_06: If have you ever seen that um that uh video on that gal who was in um Santa Clarita and she went to the city council meeting and um she she um um talked about how um McDonald's had discontinued the McRib and it's acted like she was completely serious when she did it and said, you know, they've ruined our holidays, every holiday.
1:38
SPEAKER_06: We got ten McRibs and a and a 50-piece McNugget singular at turned out she was some kind of a comedian that did this all as a joke, but it's really funny because she keeps calling it a McCrib.
1:53
SPEAKER_06: McCrib.
1:53
SPEAKER_06: Not a McNot a McRib, but a McCrib.
1:57
SPEAKER_06: I call it a chopped informed pork gristle patty.
2:01
SPEAKER_06: Uh but uh you still But you should check that out.
2:06
SPEAKER_04: I will check it out.
2:07
SPEAKER_04: I'm really one of the functions.
2:08
SPEAKER_04: Can I can I introduce our guests today?
2:09
SPEAKER_04: Yes, please.
2:10
SPEAKER_04: Because I've I've known these two for quite some time.
2:13
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I've known GT a little bit longer.
2:15
SPEAKER_04: I've just gotten to start knowing Raquel in like the last few months or so.
2:19
SPEAKER_04: So, but it's been awesome.
2:20
SPEAKER_04: So we have with us today GT Thompson and Raquel Thompson.
2:25
SPEAKER_04: So thank you for having us.
2:26
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, thank you.
2:27
SPEAKER_04: Thanks for coming.
2:28
SPEAKER_04: So glad y'all came in because go ahead.
2:30
SPEAKER_04: I'm sorry.
2:31
SPEAKER_04: I'm just gonna say this is a father-daughter comeback.
2:33
SPEAKER_04: Oh, yeah, yeah.
2:34
SPEAKER_04: Excuse me.
2:34
SPEAKER_04: Yes, yeah.
2:35
SPEAKER_05: Father and daughter, and they're in the music business.
2:38
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, we have to make sure we say that because everybody always wondered why this old dude's hanging out with us.
2:43
SPEAKER_05: Dude, I got that one time at a banquet.
2:45
SPEAKER_04: I was with my 14, she was 14 at the time, and you know, you got dressed up.
2:49
SPEAKER_04: It was like a formal banquet, and I had somebody like judging me across the table.
2:54
SPEAKER_04: She was actually a client of mine, and she's like just because we walked in together kind of late, sat down at their table, you know, and then she finally came over about an hour later.
3:02
SPEAKER_04: She's like, Okay, I just found out that that's your daughter.
3:05
SPEAKER_04: I thought that you were dating her.
3:08
SPEAKER_04: My daughter was so I mean, she was so embarrassed by that.
3:12
SPEAKER_04: That is funny, you know.
3:13
SPEAKER_04: But I was like, no, this is my 14-year-old daughter.
3:15
SPEAKER_06: So I get that all the time with my wife.
3:18
SPEAKER_06: They think I'm her dad.
3:19
SPEAKER_06: Really?
3:20
SPEAKER_06: No, I'm cracked.
3:23
SPEAKER_04: So GT and Raquel are in the music business, which is an interesting business of itself.
3:29
SPEAKER_04: So I can't wait to kind of dive in this a little bit because I'm actually intrigued to learn a little bit more about some of the barriers and opportunities in the music industry.
3:39
SPEAKER_04: But before we get going on that, GT, Raquel, why don't you all tell us a little bit about yourself, about your history?
3:45
SPEAKER_04: All right, great career.
3:46
SPEAKER_04: You want to start?
3:47
SPEAKER_04: Because yours is shorter.
3:48
SPEAKER_00: Oh, no, I don't want to start actually.
3:53
SPEAKER_05: So I am a former touring musician.
3:56
SPEAKER_05: I've uh played for Usher, TLC, uh, had a band called the 17th Floor that toured uh colleges all over the country, mostly SEC schools.
4:06
SPEAKER_05: Toured over 200 dates a year with that band.
4:10
SPEAKER_05: Um was a former technical director at a theater, which I've worked with people as like the possum, George Jones, all the way back that old.
4:18
SPEAKER_05: Wow.
4:18
SPEAKER_05: Um, all the way to Bill Cosby.
4:21
SPEAKER_05: I mean, and um um, you know, strike that off the record.
4:27
SPEAKER_06: Well, uh, you know, so uh but you know, it sounds like you were chasing a lot of waterfalls, JT.
4:32
SPEAKER_06: Oh, that's I'm sorry.
4:34
SPEAKER_06: I had to threather.
4:35
SPEAKER_06: It is one of my favorite albums over though.
4:38
SPEAKER_06: I I do like that album.
4:39
SPEAKER_06: That shocked light.
4:40
SPEAKER_06: I thought that was good.
4:41
SPEAKER_06: Okay, sorry.
4:42
SPEAKER_06: So you did you were running all over the place, though.
4:45
SPEAKER_06: Yes, sir, yes, sir.
4:46
SPEAKER_06: And how many years were you doing that?
4:48
SPEAKER_05: Uh 80, I think.
4:53
SPEAKER_05: No, long time, long time since uh before she was born.
4:57
SPEAKER_05: So um, yeah, I'd been touring forever, and so like I would be gone, you know, most of Thursday through Monday, and then I'd come home and shower her with a ton of gifts and stuff.
5:09
SPEAKER_05: So you're sorry for being gone.
5:10
SPEAKER_04: Yes, yeah, like a three-day dad.
5:13
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, but sound reminds me that Bob Seegers, right?
5:16
SPEAKER_04: Turn the page, you know.
5:17
SPEAKER_04: That was your life, wasn't it?
5:18
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
5:19
SPEAKER_05: I mean, you know, it w it was a lot.
5:21
SPEAKER_05: It was a lot because I was growing something at the same time, and it ended up being amazing.
5:27
SPEAKER_05: But I did really spoil her on the way back at shows like today.
5:32
SPEAKER_05: She's like, Hey, you've been gone for about 30 minutes now.
5:35
SPEAKER_05: Where's the gifts?
5:36
SPEAKER_05: You know?
5:37
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
5:38
SPEAKER_05: But she was she's always grown up being a daddy's girl because of those times.
5:42
SPEAKER_04: But she would be in the studio with us and all of those things.
5:45
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
5:45
SPEAKER_04: Did you enjoy that back when do you remember those days?
5:47
SPEAKER_04: Like I did.
5:48
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
5:49
SPEAKER_00: It was always really fun.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: And I used to go in there and like try to make my own songs.
5:53
SPEAKER_00: They were all really bad.
5:55
SPEAKER_00: They were all bad.
5:56
SPEAKER_00: They were it was really fun.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: It was a good time.
5:58
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
5:58
SPEAKER_04: What did you like most about that?
5:59
SPEAKER_00: When Um I just liked it, it was like, you know, seeing all of that in action.
6:06
SPEAKER_00: Like, you know, I was a kid, so it wasn't like I was, you know, thinking too deep about it, but um, just being around my dad and seeing all the instruments and seeing people like sing and and do all that in the studio was like really just like wow, like pretty small kids.
6:21
SPEAKER_04: So like since your early years, like you've really understood artists and what they're going through, what they're trying to achieve, and the passion behind it, huh?
6:31
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, well, that's been a part of I mean, just the entire journey um from learning how to produce and play and do all of that stuff to touring to to you know, releasing records of that whole thing.
6:44
SPEAKER_05: I mean, it was it's just been like a long growth, and of course she's been there through 95% of it.
6:49
SPEAKER_05: So that's really cool.
6:50
SPEAKER_05: So after the touring, then what?
6:53
SPEAKER_05: So uh there's a lot of stories that led to after the touring.
6:58
SPEAKER_05: But um, after I got done, I decided that I wanted a regular job.
7:03
SPEAKER_05: All right.
7:04
SPEAKER_05: So I went to work for a city as a marketing and events coordinator.
7:08
SPEAKER_05: So I had to wipe my resume and just put like one job on it in order for me to be able to get a job, because all the other jobs I applied for, I guess I was overqualified, which I've never understood that.
7:20
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
7:21
SPEAKER_05: So I applied at this place um for the city of Bryant, Arkansas, and was marketing and events coordinator.
7:28
SPEAKER_05: Um, and just kind of worked the front desk at this community center and just, you know, was a people person throughout that whole time.
7:38
SPEAKER_05: And then I got another call to go back to Atlanta and work with Usher and the team.
7:44
SPEAKER_05: So I did that again.
7:45
SPEAKER_05: Then I came back, worked for the city again.
7:48
SPEAKER_05: And so, you know.
7:49
SPEAKER_05: What were you doing with Usher?
7:51
SPEAKER_05: Drummer.
7:52
SPEAKER_05: I was a drummer for him, yes, sir.
7:54
SPEAKER_05: So would you go on tours with him?
7:55
SPEAKER_05: Are you talking about district?
7:56
SPEAKER_05: Really?
7:56
SPEAKER_05: Tours, yeah.
7:57
SPEAKER_05: My first time with him, I went as like a personal assistant slash ballet.
8:02
SPEAKER_05: That was when he didn't take a band.
8:04
SPEAKER_05: My first tour with him.
8:06
SPEAKER_05: And so I was with him like 24 hours a day.
8:09
SPEAKER_05: And uh see, he was actually discovered by a guy that was out on tour with us with TLC.
8:17
SPEAKER_05: So a security guard for TLC discovered Usher in Chattanooga while we were out.
8:23
SPEAKER_05: Uh-huh.
8:24
SPEAKER_05: So, I mean, I've known him since way before the rise to start him.
8:29
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, all the way from the very beginning.
8:32
SPEAKER_06: So then what?
8:34
SPEAKER_05: So then after Obviously you're not still working at the city of Bryant, so yeah, that's a long story, but um it's a good story though.
8:42
SPEAKER_05: I mean, I I ended up leaving and I ended up uh getting a severance worked out with the city, and I went to venue management school, which was in Virginia.
8:56
SPEAKER_05: And I actually went to that school from just seeing online Michael Marion, who is the general manager of um the arena down in Little Rock.
9:05
SPEAKER_05: I s I when I wanted to leave Brian, I looked to see what he was doing.
9:10
SPEAKER_05: And so, because I really wanted to work at that arena.
9:14
SPEAKER_05: And I seen that he had this school that he taught at.
9:17
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, what is this?
9:18
SPEAKER_05: So I actually applied for the school, and they were like, No, it's too late.
9:24
SPEAKER_05: And uh so I said I want to apply anyway.
9:27
SPEAKER_05: And so I did, and somebody dropped out, and they called me like the week of and they were like, Hey, you want to come in and and attend venue management school?
9:37
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, Absolutely.
9:38
SPEAKER_05: So I went there and I was like the only guy there with no job.
9:42
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
9:43
SPEAKER_05: Everybody else was managing uh like I'm talking like the forum, uh, Madison Square Garden.
9:48
SPEAKER_05: These are all like upper management um, you know, venue managers.
9:53
SPEAKER_05: Sure.
9:54
SPEAKER_05: And so uh I ended up leaving year one as the uh president vice president, vice president of the next class.
10:03
SPEAKER_05: So I had no job, but everybody loved me.
10:08
SPEAKER_05: So I ended up being the vice president.
10:10
SPEAKER_05: Well, yeah.
10:11
SPEAKER_05: And then what?
10:12
SPEAKER_05: And then I came back uh and then started working for Al Bell, who was a legendary record industry guy who used to own stacks and was the president of Motown Music Group.
10:24
SPEAKER_05: He also was the guy that wrote I'll Take You There.
10:26
SPEAKER_05: He's also the guy that gave Prince's number one biggest single, independent single, and the most beautiful girl in the world.
10:35
SPEAKER_05: He's the one that marketed and promoted that.
10:37
SPEAKER_05: So I worked with Al T.
10:39
SPEAKER_05: Didn't he also write Hard to Handle?
10:40
SPEAKER_05: He did.
10:41
SPEAKER_04: He also wrote Hard to Handle.
10:42
SPEAKER_04: You ever heard that the black girls do the cover on that too?
10:46
SPEAKER_04: I don't know it.
10:46
SPEAKER_04: Otis Redding did it too.
10:49
SPEAKER_04: Maybe let me light you a candle because Mama, I'm too hard to handle now.
10:52
SPEAKER_04: Yes, I am.
10:53
SPEAKER_04: No.
10:53
SPEAKER_04: I've never look at Eric.
10:55
SPEAKER_04: Wow.
10:55
SPEAKER_04: I'm into Isa K's these days.
10:57
SPEAKER_05: You're into I love Isa K's.
10:59
SPEAKER_05: Well, he produced that record too, um, Hot Buttered Soul.
11:02
SPEAKER_05: Oh, really?
11:04
SPEAKER_05: Uh-huh.
11:05
SPEAKER_05: Wow.
11:05
SPEAKER_05: So awesome.
11:06
SPEAKER_05: There you go.
11:07
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, see?
11:08
SPEAKER_05: Uh so I ended up um working with Al, traveling with him, him and uh co-founder of our nonprofit that we have, the music education initiative that we currently have.
11:18
SPEAKER_05: We were working for Al, we traveled with him.
11:20
SPEAKER_05: I did a lot of production type stuff, like if he did speak and engagements, I would make sure teleprompter was good and sound and all that stuff.
11:28
SPEAKER_05: And and we basically traveled with him for a long time.
11:32
SPEAKER_05: Um, and that's how I ended up getting to Northwest Arkansas.
11:36
SPEAKER_05: I see.
11:37
SPEAKER_04: So um was Al was coming up to Northwest Arkansas interested in the community and doing some music stuff, huh?
11:45
SPEAKER_05: Mm-hmm.
11:46
SPEAKER_05: He really saw a lot up here.
11:47
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
11:48
SPEAKER_05: Um, and you know, he communicated that to it's it's funny when I look at it now, everything that he talked about is kind of starting to really come alive.
11:58
SPEAKER_05: Now, including what we're doing with Love Moore, right?
12:02
SPEAKER_05: So um, and he's always seen that in her.
12:05
SPEAKER_05: He's always told me that she had something, and I was like, what?
12:10
SPEAKER_05: What she got?
12:12
SPEAKER_04: She got gifts.
12:13
SPEAKER_04: I know she's got some gifts.
12:17
SPEAKER_05: But uh yeah, so I worked with Al and then I ended up coming up here, and uh when I moved, I moved up here in 20 during the pandemic in November of the pandemic year.
12:29
SPEAKER_05: And uh she was at UA, she was at the college, and everybody thinks I followed her, but that's not the case.
12:36
SPEAKER_05: Uh do you think I followed you?
12:38
unknown: No.
12:39
SPEAKER_05: Okay, good.
12:40
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, no.
12:41
SPEAKER_05: So I moved up here.
12:43
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, we do have that.
12:45
SPEAKER_05: I moved up here, and um Al actually was like, Man, there's some things we don't understand about the landscape up there.
12:52
SPEAKER_05: And the only way we're gonna get that if somebody gets on the ground.
12:56
SPEAKER_05: So I came up first for our team and and and I did learn a lot.
13:02
SPEAKER_05: I was just by myself at that time.
13:05
SPEAKER_05: And then um still was missing some things.
13:08
SPEAKER_05: We still couldn't wrap our heads around a lot of stuff that was going on.
13:12
SPEAKER_05: And basically a lot of it was the structure of the nonprofit funds that go.
13:17
SPEAKER_05: I say, okay because we weren't from that nonprofit world.
13:20
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
13:21
SPEAKER_05: So from there I decided to uh go and work for a nonprofit, which I did by starting as the director of events for downtown Springdale.
13:32
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
13:32
SPEAKER_05: So I did that for two years and uh left there in January to go back to a for-profit entity, which is Love More Records, and um And this is your new venture.
13:42
SPEAKER_05: That's my new venture.
13:44
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
13:45
SPEAKER_05: She's the CEO though.
13:46
SPEAKER_05: I'm just the the guy next to the CEO.
13:48
SPEAKER_06: Awesome.
13:49
SPEAKER_06: So Raquel, what were you doing at U of A?
13:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, well, I'm still technically at U of A.
13:56
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I was I was a I'm a marketing major.
13:58
SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
13:59
unknown: Yep.
13:59
SPEAKER_00: You never taken my class though.
14:02
SPEAKER_00: Uh I'll I'll keep that in mind.
14:06
SPEAKER_06: It's highly rated.
14:08
SPEAKER_06: Check me out.
14:08
SPEAKER_06: I write my professors.
14:10
SPEAKER_00: Gotcha.
14:10
SPEAKER_06: I will.
14:11
SPEAKER_06: I will do that.
14:12
SPEAKER_06: That's the real gospel where everybody goes.
14:14
SPEAKER_06: But okay, so you were a marketing major, but you're not finished yet.
14:18
SPEAKER_06: Uh no, I'm not.
14:19
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
14:20
unknown: Yep.
14:21
SPEAKER_06: And so but with Listen, one of my daughters was on the seven and a half year plan, so it's okay.
14:27
SPEAKER_06: Don't feel bad.
14:31
SPEAKER_06: Don't feel bad.
14:31
SPEAKER_06: I can see you're like, well.
14:34
SPEAKER_04: So what do you do in the meantime?
14:35
SPEAKER_04: I mean, like, you're you you do a lot of different things.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: Sure do.
14:39
SPEAKER_04: What all do you do?
14:40
SPEAKER_00: Um well, I'm I'm a DJ.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: It's like my main thing.
14:43
SPEAKER_00: Uh I've been doing that just for ever, ever and ever.
14:46
SPEAKER_04: Kind of like running your own DJ show, basically.
14:49
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
14:49
SPEAKER_00: I started when I was 11 and speed ever since.
14:54
SPEAKER_00: Um and then I started an alumni an electronic music um event organizing thing with me and a couple other DJs who are also my really close friends.
15:05
SPEAKER_00: Um and that's been going great.
15:06
SPEAKER_00: We actually have a show literally later tonight.
15:09
SPEAKER_00: Um and so that's that's something that's been.
15:11
SPEAKER_04: But what do you mean by electronic DJ?
15:13
SPEAKER_00: So uh it's like electronic music, like house music, um techno, yeah.
15:18
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
15:19
SPEAKER_00: Like all the electronic music genres.
15:21
SPEAKER_00: We put on shows that are revolved around that.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: We book local DJs and Okay.
15:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's been going really, really well.
15:27
SPEAKER_04: So awesome.
15:28
SPEAKER_04: What's been going well?
15:29
SPEAKER_04: I mean, like the people are just interested in that genre, like for events, I guess, and stuff.
15:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like you know, rabes are like extremely rare in Arkansas.
15:37
SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, the EDM community is just now really sprouting again.
15:42
SPEAKER_00: It was it was a period in like I think the nineties, a lot of the older DJs tell us about it.
15:48
SPEAKER_04: That's when I was growing up.
15:49
SPEAKER_04: I grew up in the best musical era of all time, by the way.
15:52
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
15:52
SPEAKER_04: The nineties.
15:53
SPEAKER_04: For sure.
15:54
SPEAKER_04: Kim Beaks?
15:55
unknown: Yeah.
15:56
unknown: Okay.
15:56
SPEAKER_04: Um yeah, now listen.
15:58
SPEAKER_04: Okay, let's we sidebar real quick.
16:00
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
16:00
SPEAKER_04: It was 60s and 70s.
16:02
SPEAKER_04: Come on, okay, so no, hold on.
16:05
SPEAKER_04: Now I'm not gonna discredit like Zeppelin, obviously.
16:09
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, right?
16:10
SPEAKER_04: No one can do it.
16:11
SPEAKER_04: And Beatles.
16:12
SPEAKER_04: That's even that's with like the 40s though, right?
16:14
SPEAKER_04: And Floyd.
16:15
SPEAKER_04: They're really that's epic.
16:17
SPEAKER_04: Almond Brothers, obviously.
16:19
SPEAKER_04: The door a lot of them, a lot of good ones.
16:21
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
16:21
SPEAKER_04: But think about the 90s.
16:22
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
16:23
SPEAKER_04: You know, Redding, Nirvana, Allison Chain, Snoop Dogg, Dr.
16:28
SPEAKER_04: Drake.
16:30
SPEAKER_04: Keep on Rage Against the Machine.
16:33
SPEAKER_04: Some of the best I mean, some of the best music of all time.
16:35
SPEAKER_04: Brolje.
16:36
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, okay.
16:36
SPEAKER_04: Come on.
16:37
SPEAKER_04: Sound guard.
16:37
SPEAKER_04: All right, all right, all right.
16:38
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it's it's comparable.
16:41
SPEAKER_05: It's comparable.
16:42
SPEAKER_05: Oh yeah, it is.
16:43
SPEAKER_05: Okay, thank you.
16:43
SPEAKER_05: It is comparable.
16:46
SPEAKER_06: I don't know.
16:48
SPEAKER_06: I think like if you're like TLC music.
16:51
SPEAKER_06: Oh, TLC.
16:52
SPEAKER_06: I do like TLC.
16:54
SPEAKER_06: I I will say.
16:55
SPEAKER_06: I don't want no scrub, though.
16:56
SPEAKER_06: But uh, but the um but uh no.
17:02
SPEAKER_06: Um I think like the one of the best periods for film and music would be like 1967, 68 through about 1973.
17:12
SPEAKER_06: What happened then?
17:14
SPEAKER_06: Everybody talking about.
17:15
SPEAKER_06: I mean, they're just great movies, they were great soundtracks, there were great bands.
17:19
SPEAKER_06: Like such an S?
17:20
SPEAKER_06: I don't know.
17:22
SPEAKER_06: Emerson Lakin Palmer, Jeff Rothull, uh, you know, you name some of them.
17:28
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
17:28
SPEAKER_06: Is that one?
17:29
SPEAKER_06: Isaac Hayes.
17:31
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
17:31
SPEAKER_00: When did Star Wars come out?
17:33
SPEAKER_04: Are you seeing Isaac Hayes, right?
17:35
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
17:35
SPEAKER_06: I don't know.
17:35
SPEAKER_04: Because it sounds like you're seeing Isaac Hayes.
17:37
SPEAKER_06: Do you remember the I mean I'm sorry, I'm not Okay.
17:41
SPEAKER_06: You're starting to give me a hard time.
17:43
SPEAKER_06: No, I'm I'm I'm not.
17:44
SPEAKER_06: I'm backing up.
17:45
SPEAKER_06: I I came across like I was.
17:47
SPEAKER_06: No, but it's like um it's just a period of real creativity and stuff with different.
17:52
SPEAKER_06: It seems like now it's everybody's recycling.
17:55
SPEAKER_06: Everything is just recycled, recycled, recycled.
17:57
SPEAKER_06: Here's a mix of killing me softly or something.
18:00
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
18:01
SPEAKER_06: You know what I mean?
18:02
SPEAKER_06: It's just like everything is a recycled, all the movies are recycled, they're all reduced.
18:07
SPEAKER_06: Where's the creativity, you know?
18:09
SPEAKER_06: Oh, that's a good question.
18:10
SPEAKER_05: You know, I tell you, it's actually kind of coming back, but it's coming back in a different way.
18:16
SPEAKER_05: So now there's technology involved big time, so everybody can record.
18:20
SPEAKER_06: I know.
18:21
SPEAKER_05: Garage Band at home.
18:22
SPEAKER_06: I mean, my 14-year-old did her first uh well, she's 17 now, but she did a a song she wrote and recorded on Garage Band, and it was popular.
18:32
SPEAKER_06: I mean, it's amazing.
18:33
SPEAKER_06: You know, we've got a redo of it now that's out on an EP, but yeah.
18:38
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's awesome how she's able to produce and do it all on your own.
18:42
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and what also has changed in the last few years is now you can release it a lot faster.
18:48
SPEAKER_05: It used to be TuneCorp, like two yeah, TuneCorpic.
18:52
SPEAKER_05: Um, it's for a kid, you know, all of those different platforms.
18:57
SPEAKER_05: It used to take you like two months to release a now.
19:00
SPEAKER_05: Once you get a subscription or you have that kind of thing, it's amazing.
19:04
SPEAKER_05: It's like a week.
19:05
SPEAKER_05: You can go a week.
19:06
SPEAKER_05: But they still don't market for you.
19:08
SPEAKER_05: That's a big problem.
19:09
SPEAKER_05: There you go.
19:10
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
19:10
SPEAKER_05: There you go.
19:11
SPEAKER_05: That's the no marketing.
19:12
SPEAKER_05: And no artist development.
19:14
SPEAKER_05: No, nothing.
19:15
SPEAKER_05: So that everybody just thinks they can do it, but again, there now there's been uh a stat that was a hundred thousand songs a day that is being uploaded online.
19:27
SPEAKER_05: A hundred thousand songs.
19:30
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, new just new songs.
19:32
SPEAKER_05: Holy cow.
19:33
SPEAKER_05: Yes, absolutely.
19:34
SPEAKER_05: You can Google it, yes, a day.
19:36
SPEAKER_06: That is insane.
19:37
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
19:38
SPEAKER_06: It is I had no idea.
19:39
SPEAKER_06: Now, most of them can't be any good, though.
19:41
SPEAKER_06: Absolutely.
19:41
SPEAKER_05: There are most of them as terrible.
19:44
SPEAKER_05: And there is a high, I wish I could think of this, this, the uh statistic, but there is a huge majority of them that have never been heard, not not even streamed once.
19:55
SPEAKER_05: Really?
19:56
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
19:56
SPEAKER_05: It was it was amazing.
19:58
SPEAKER_05: So that that means that marketing is extremely important if you're going against that kind of competition.
20:04
SPEAKER_05: Oh, absolutely.
20:05
SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
20:05
SPEAKER_05: That's the key.
20:06
SPEAKER_05: Marketing in just your your brand strategy.
20:09
SPEAKER_05: Um you mentioned artist development.
20:11
SPEAKER_05: What does that mean?
20:12
SPEAKER_05: Like what do you mean by that?
20:13
SPEAKER_05: So that means actually taking a look at the collection of the songs, taking a look at the performance and and you know how they're performing, um, just how they their image is is comes across, um, even just mentally working with them so they understand how to deal in the industry.
20:33
SPEAKER_05: So I mean it's really just shaping, shaping that artist.
20:36
SPEAKER_05: It's a coach, basically.
20:37
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
20:37
SPEAKER_05: Coaching, like performance coaching in a way.
20:40
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, but a little bit more in-depth, I would say.
20:45
SPEAKER_06: So go back to the studio now um that you guys have created.
20:50
SPEAKER_06: Um tell us about that.
20:52
SPEAKER_06: So we What do you do exactly there?
20:55
SPEAKER_05: So we actually the great thing we have a producer, his name is ProKidd, who's worked with like two chains and other other um hip hop artists.
21:04
SPEAKER_05: So he has a studio at his house.
21:06
SPEAKER_05: He has a home studio.
21:08
SPEAKER_05: I have a home studio at my house, and then we also use the Fayetteville Public Libraries.
21:13
SPEAKER_05: I've heard that's amazing.
21:14
SPEAKER_05: The new God.
21:16
SPEAKER_05: It is something else.
21:17
SPEAKER_05: You I mean, to think that place is free, like a library.
21:21
SPEAKER_05: It's crazy.
21:21
SPEAKER_05: It's like getting a book.
21:22
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
21:22
SPEAKER_05: But it's the Class A studio.
21:25
SPEAKER_05: I mean, this is an unreal um resource.
21:29
SPEAKER_05: And so we've actually even shot a video there um and recorded one of the songs that's gonna be released on Love More.
21:36
SPEAKER_05: Cool.
21:36
SPEAKER_05: And so, yeah, so we work out of that studio and we gotta do anything bigger, but most of the time we're we're doing stuff in our home studios, right?
21:44
SPEAKER_04: Right now.
21:44
SPEAKER_04: And so, like the what what y'all are doing is more like the what you're talking about, the the development, the rehearsing, the recording.
21:52
SPEAKER_04: I mean, you're doing all that stuff for the artists, and then you're gonna are you helping them marketing, right?
21:57
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
21:57
SPEAKER_04: What do you what are you doing all this, Raquel?
21:59
SPEAKER_04: What what Your role?
22:01
SPEAKER_00: Um, I handle more of like the marketing, like keeping everybody in line and moving things forward, kind of role.
22:07
SPEAKER_04: So I know like working with the artists.
22:10
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
22:10
SPEAKER_00: Like I work a lot w um I work with each one of them individually and develop branding and vision.
22:16
SPEAKER_00: And like for example, I've sat with all of them recently and just kind of talked about like, what do you want the overall message to be from this upcoming release?
22:25
SPEAKER_00: How do you want it to be portrayed online in you know, traditional media?
22:29
SPEAKER_00: Like, what do you want people to feel whenever they hear the songs?
22:33
SPEAKER_00: And then we I coordinate like videographers, photographers, I get spaces for them to shoot music videos, like I set all that up so then they can execute.
22:43
SPEAKER_04: Um I'm sorry, Eric.
22:46
SPEAKER_04: Well, I was gonna say, like, uh just kind of I'm I'm thinking about this a little bit, you know, in marketing, as you know, you teach it, right?
22:52
SPEAKER_04: Right.
22:53
SPEAKER_04: And so a lot of times when you're talking with clients and marketing, right?
22:56
SPEAKER_04: A lot of times clients don't know how to market.
22:59
SPEAKER_04: That's why they're therefore hiring a marketed agency, right?
23:02
SPEAKER_04: So I think it's kind of like the same with artists, but it's try to you know, there's that level of they have a passion or they have a desire to be represented in a certain way, but you as a professional in that are you're consulting, you're hearing that, but you're also directing and guiding it to more of a professional direction, right?
23:21
SPEAKER_04: Is that going with like even logo development to song choices, even?
23:26
SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, like really um I was even talking to one of our artists and he was kind of voicing his concerns about what season that he jumps his songs in, like, oh, this sound sounds better in the summer and this sounds better in the winter.
23:38
SPEAKER_00: And we were like, I mean, I guess he got a point, but we were also like going back and forth with him about like it just depends on if it's not right.
23:47
SPEAKER_00: You know, like if I mean I've heard I've heard of songs that sound like there's summer songs that like went crazy in the winter time.
23:53
SPEAKER_06: So really, yeah, like well, if they it's called summertime, that's a summer song.
23:56
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, yeah, or winter child.
23:59
SPEAKER_06: There are some like that.
24:00
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
24:00
SPEAKER_06: Definitely.
24:01
SPEAKER_06: But you know, I got a question for you guys.
24:03
SPEAKER_06: So my experience is limited with recording and all that.
24:08
SPEAKER_06: I got one daughter who's into it.
24:11
SPEAKER_06: Um, I mentioned to you, um writes her own music and performs it.
24:15
SPEAKER_06: But um, seems to me like most of these artists, they only think about the music creation, and after that, they just think that the world should beat a path to their door and they're gonna become instantly famous.
24:26
SPEAKER_06: Do you guys find that's the case?
24:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, I would say with some artists, yes.
24:32
SPEAKER_00: Um, but a lot of them nowadays uh have the understanding that they have to put their marketing hats on at least for a while.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: Like um the social media marketing and the marketing in general has fallen a lot on the artist because a lot of audiences online want to see the artist and they want to feel like they know this person.
24:52
SPEAKER_02: Right.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: That's I mean, you have the whole Doja Cat thing now where she was just like, I don't know you guys.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: We're not friends.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: Like I'm I'm a singer and you like my music.
25:00
SPEAKER_00: That's how this is.
25:01
SPEAKER_00: And everybody was hurt and taken aback by that because that's not how it is nowadays.
25:06
SPEAKER_00: Like people do want to feel like they're your friend.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: And are there like, you know, controversies within that?
25:12
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
25:13
SPEAKER_00: But um, you know, it it allows you to fully communicate who you are as an artist and a person, like when you're you're the person involved in the marketing.
25:23
SPEAKER_02: Right.
25:24
SPEAKER_00: Um we've we've explained that there are some of our artists that like hate social media and are really not that great at it and would prefer that we do everything.
25:31
SPEAKER_06: I understand.
25:32
SPEAKER_00: Um, though we've had to explain to them like it has to be kind of a 50-50 situation where we can set up literally everything for you, but we need you to create the content.
25:41
SPEAKER_02: Right.
25:41
SPEAKER_00: Um, because they're not gonna respond to Love Lore Records, they're gonna respond to Sarah Lilly or Bang or whoever we have.
25:47
SPEAKER_06: So Sure.
25:49
SPEAKER_06: So how do you guys um make money?
25:52
SPEAKER_06: I mean, do you charge these artists for all these services that you're providing?
25:57
SPEAKER_06: Or do you hope that you can make them successful and take a cut of what they they do?
26:03
SPEAKER_06: How do you do that?
26:04
SPEAKER_06: How do you monetize this?
26:07
SPEAKER_05: So what's funny is we have this thing when we're talking to business people a lot and they go, Well, I don't know the music business.
26:16
SPEAKER_05: And we go, Well, do you know business?
26:18
SPEAKER_05: And they're like, Yeah.
26:20
SPEAKER_05: Well, I mean, music business now is retail.
26:23
SPEAKER_05: I mean, you're selling t-shirts, you're selling you probably sell the merch.
26:27
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, the merch, you probably sell more of that than records.
26:30
SPEAKER_05: Vinyl now has made a huge resurgence, especially for independent artists.
26:36
SPEAKER_05: And most of the top you can sell that vinyl for, you know, 40 to 50 bucks per record now.
26:42
SPEAKER_05: Wow, okay.
26:44
SPEAKER_05: Uh huh.
26:44
SPEAKER_05: Because it's a limited amount and they can't get it everywhere.
26:48
SPEAKER_05: So if I come to your show, I know I can't go to every store and get this record.
26:53
SPEAKER_05: I would definitely pay 50 bucks for that record.
26:56
SPEAKER_06: But that takes an investment on your part to produce the record.
26:59
SPEAKER_06: Absolutely.
26:59
SPEAKER_06: That's that's takes some capital to do that.
27:02
SPEAKER_06: Yes, it does.
27:03
SPEAKER_06: And then you may end up with a record that nobody wants, conceivably.
27:06
SPEAKER_06: That could happen too, right?
27:08
SPEAKER_04: Well, not from us who could say one but there's one thing to be said though, which I think is kind of neat, right?
27:16
SPEAKER_04: If you do pr I get your point, if you do produce these records, though, say you produced a few hundred of them or something, right?
27:22
SPEAKER_04: And then you have a lot of the like you said, they're being sold at live shows.
27:26
SPEAKER_04: So you have like this captivated audience there.
27:30
SPEAKER_04: Right.
27:30
SPEAKER_04: You know, I mean it's kind of like a you know, you it like bringing all your clients in one spot and you have it something that they all come to.
27:37
SPEAKER_04: Sure.
27:38
SPEAKER_06: Now this is I've heard this before from I I've got a friend who's a quasi-friend who's a producer, and he was over at the house.
27:46
SPEAKER_06: You probably know the guy, um, but anyway, um was over at the house last week and he was talking about how the merch and all this is such a critical part of what they do today.
27:57
SPEAKER_06: But so you said something though that I want to come back to at the venue, at the live performance.
28:03
SPEAKER_06: Is a live performance always required today for anybody who's gonna be known for their music, or does anybody make it strictly off what they produce and stream or sell you know Apple music or whatever?
28:20
SPEAKER_00: I would say live um shows are still a huge um Is it a must?
28:26
SPEAKER_00: I would say so.
28:27
SPEAKER_05: I would say so if you want to have any any sort of success.
28:31
SPEAKER_05: Now you can start off doing live shows and then once you've had a fan base, right pull back.
28:38
SPEAKER_05: Uh-huh.
28:38
SPEAKER_05: But uh you gotta get on the ground um these days.
28:41
SPEAKER_05: Why is that?
28:43
SPEAKER_05: Well, I think one is the connection, you know, the personal connection.
28:47
SPEAKER_05: Two, the opportunities exist more in and you going and being able to play a venue than it does getting on the radio and TV and all of those.
28:57
SPEAKER_04: So the opportunities are so there's there's more opportunity to basically distribute your music to I mean, if you have people that are even if you're opening it up for somebody or you're part of some sort of festival, like you have that cafe of audience, and it's harder to get on the radio and be and be pushed out in front of that kind of mass correct audience, is what you're saying.
29:19
SPEAKER_06: Well, not everybody even listens to the radio.
29:20
SPEAKER_06: Oh, yeah.
29:21
SPEAKER_06: Right.
29:22
SPEAKER_06: But so is it I know back in the old days that the record labels would go out and push their their music to the DJs to try to get them to play it and all that.
29:32
SPEAKER_06: Does that still happen today?
29:34
SPEAKER_00: Um it is a little, it's a little, it's heavily multi-layered nowadays.
29:39
SPEAKER_00: Um like we're we're kind of pushing it to everybody, but DJs are still a very vital part of the community.
29:44
SPEAKER_00: Uh they just really depends on who you're sending it to.
29:49
SPEAKER_00: Um like we we kind of have been keeping an eye out on like the local DJs around here who are very popular and like Radio John Deek.
29:58
SPEAKER_06: I mean that may not be where your your artists would be, but um I mean John Williams.
30:05
SPEAKER_00: Radio is definitely still still a a thing too.
30:08
SPEAKER_00: But um it's like the live aspect DJs too, like the people that are in the club.
30:12
SPEAKER_04: Okay, so those are the kinds of things.
30:13
SPEAKER_04: There's two different types of DJs.
30:14
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, sorry.
30:15
SPEAKER_04: I'm I'm lost on that.
30:16
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
30:17
SPEAKER_04: Well, I think you were talking about radio.
30:19
SPEAKER_04: I was, yeah.
30:20
SPEAKER_04: I was talking about I was talking about radio too.
30:22
SPEAKER_04: But they still play a part.
30:24
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
30:24
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
30:25
SPEAKER_04: So like if you can get because I mean back in the old days, right, you would cut a cut a song and you get it to the right person.
30:30
SPEAKER_06: You could be out riding around from town to town with records trying to get these people to play them.
30:35
SPEAKER_06: Does that still happen though, or is it it still needs to happen?
30:38
SPEAKER_05: So I mean it still needs to happen.
30:40
SPEAKER_00: Especially in electronic music, that's like a huge way that your song can blow up, is if you just simply send it to other DJs because they'll just put it in their sets, and that's how like I remember there was this I went to this one music festival last year, and there was this one song that literally every DJ on the lineup played, every single one played it in his set, and it's because the artists sent it to all of them.
31:02
SPEAKER_00: Interesting, like, oh, we're getting this exclusive track.
31:06
SPEAKER_00: No, they were not, like everybody had everybody was getting it, but they so I that's kind of cool.
31:12
SPEAKER_04: There's like a like a another culture or market of live DJs that artists.
31:19
SPEAKER_04: I hadn't either.
31:20
SPEAKER_04: And you get it to how do you how does I mean I guess that's what they hire you to do, right?
31:24
SPEAKER_05: Like you know who they are.
31:26
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, well, we know you're she's DJing with these DJs, um, which is some of our secret sauce.
31:33
SPEAKER_05: Sure.
31:33
SPEAKER_05: And uh, you know, I am booking these DJs at shows and clubs and stuff, and I know a lot of the venue owners, and so we have relationships with these DJs.
31:43
SPEAKER_00: And you let like just send them and say, hey, you text them, hey man, I got this new this new or we just go ahead and cut like all these different versions that they can use in their sets and we'll just send it to them automatically.
31:53
SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, here's intro, outro, here's extended mix, here's radio edits.
31:57
SPEAKER_06: Really?
31:57
SPEAKER_06: And the idea though is to promote the song and the artist so people then pay to stream it or pay to buy it on Apple Music or whatever.
32:05
SPEAKER_00: For sure.
32:06
SPEAKER_06: Is that the idea?
32:07
SPEAKER_00: I mean go ahead.
32:08
SPEAKER_00: I mean, a big a big thing nowadays is like just just getting growing your audience and building your community.
32:15
SPEAKER_00: And that tends to be through followers as well as just like how many people are literally like physically coming to your shows.
32:23
SPEAKER_00: I know like one of our artists, like she had somebody that drove all the way from Kansas City to Rogers to see her play.
32:29
SPEAKER_00: So it's like, you know, we keep those things in mind because it's like, okay, if that's one person that's from there, I wonder how many other people like one of our people.
32:38
SPEAKER_00: So I'm sorry, what was the question again?
32:40
SPEAKER_06: Well, I just tried to figure out what's the ultimate point of that.
32:43
SPEAKER_06: Is it to sell streaming?
32:45
SPEAKER_06: Is it to sell um downloads?
32:48
SPEAKER_00: Um It's a little bit everything.
32:50
SPEAKER_00: I think I think for live DJs, I think it would just be to expose their music to a whole new audience of people that might not have heard it otherwise.
33:00
SPEAKER_06: I just understand that, but then that's up what I'm asking about is so we've exposed them.
33:04
SPEAKER_06: Is the point then so those people buy?
33:08
SPEAKER_06: Well, those people will go and stream.
33:09
SPEAKER_06: Not many people are buying digital copies of music anywhere.
33:13
SPEAKER_04: So and then you get so then you stream, then you you have the more people that are streaming, the more opportunities.
33:19
SPEAKER_06: Now you got exactly other opportunities because you're capturing for like live performances and then to sell the merch, as they say.
33:27
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, to sell the merch.
33:32
SPEAKER_04: I guess you're because one I mean, honestly, like I think I know where you're going because like it was a little bit it was simpler back in the day, it seems like.
33:39
SPEAKER_04: Like you go to the a store, Hastings, remember Hastings?
33:44
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, absolutely.
33:44
SPEAKER_04: And you'd buy a CD.
33:45
SPEAKER_04: It seems like that was the ultimate end goal.
33:47
SPEAKER_04: It was like if you could sell through CDs as an artist.
33:51
SPEAKER_04: Or we bought records in my butt.
33:54
SPEAKER_06: We couldn't even tell like what the lyrics were unless we could like find them on the album cover somewhere.
33:59
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
34:00
SPEAKER_06: Because there wasn't the internet, we'd be guessing like that.
34:02
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, well, yeah, what is that?
34:04
SPEAKER_03: There's a battery.
34:08
SPEAKER_03: Right.
34:10
SPEAKER_04: But I mean, but like to a consumer though, like a douche.
34:13
SPEAKER_06: Um you keep wanting to find out if those are the real words, and you couldn't find out unless you bought the album and then.
34:23
SPEAKER_04: Isn't it weird like when you discover what the real words are, the kind of the uh excitement kind of goes away.
34:27
SPEAKER_04: No, it's like, oh, that's just a douche.
34:31
SPEAKER_04: I don't even know.
34:33
SPEAKER_04: But I mean, I think that the thing is is a listener, music listener, buying the CD to me as just the audience, seemed like the the apex of of the goal that's gonna be.
34:45
SPEAKER_04: Well they could make money back.
34:47
SPEAKER_04: That's that's what seemed like to be the money.
34:48
SPEAKER_00: That was the dad was coming back, I would say.
34:51
SPEAKER_00: Like there's still definitely people who love having a physical copy of like the the music.
34:57
SPEAKER_00: I know like my dad mentioned earlier, like vinyl grew up exponentially.
35:02
SPEAKER_00: Even CDs are coming back a little bit.
35:03
SPEAKER_00: The last show that I worked at merch table for, like, there was a whole line for people who wanted CDs.
35:08
SPEAKER_05: And I was like, I wouldn't even know what to do with a CD if I but you know that's there's a point in that because 50% of people that buy vinyl don't even have record players.
35:21
SPEAKER_05: Really?
35:22
SPEAKER_05: They just want to own 50% It's a collection.
35:25
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
35:25
SPEAKER_05: Well, it's it's memorabilia from the show.
35:28
SPEAKER_05: But I mean if you think about it like the That's wild.
35:31
SPEAKER_05: Everything that you're doing is from the streaming to the live shows to the merch, everything that you're doing is really to build a community of super fans.
35:43
SPEAKER_05: So again, it goes back that model of a thousand super fans is worth way more than ten thousand, just you know, people that just touch you every now and then.
35:52
SPEAKER_05: Right.
35:53
SPEAKER_05: I mean, you these super fans, if you you have the right stuff for them, I mean they'll spend three hundred dollars, you know, a year on you.
36:01
SPEAKER_05: Right.
36:01
SPEAKER_05: You know, and so it's a matter of creating this community and I never really understood this.
36:07
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
36:07
SPEAKER_04: I it makes total sense though when you say it like that.
36:10
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, well, I mean it's like it you know what it's like.
36:13
SPEAKER_04: A good analogy that I think maybe we c it helps the listeners understand it's like a social influencer.
36:18
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
36:18
SPEAKER_04: I mean, everything that they do is about gaining followers.
36:22
SPEAKER_04: Right.
36:22
SPEAKER_04: Super fan followers.
36:24
SPEAKER_04: And the more followers you have, the more it's it's just like magazines, it's like everything, it's about the audience.
36:29
SPEAKER_04: It's like it's it's like being a a talk show.
36:32
SPEAKER_04: I mean, you know, you're doing a lot of things to try to make ends meet, but at the end of the day, if you are able to get 10,000 people listen, it's like our podcast.
36:40
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, exactly.
36:41
SPEAKER_04: If we got 10,000 downloads a day, which I know is your goal.
36:44
SPEAKER_04: Exactly.
36:45
SPEAKER_04: Because you're relentless.
36:47
SPEAKER_04: Dude, I love that about you, though, bro.
36:49
SPEAKER_04: That's why we're doing this, man.
36:51
SPEAKER_04: But if we got 10,000 listeners or downloads a you know a week, right, that's there's opportunity for all kinds of like sponsorships.
37:00
SPEAKER_04: Right.
37:00
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, it makes sense.
37:01
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, nothing's the same thing.
37:03
SPEAKER_05: Add value too, our advertising value, because now you can say we got 10,000 people listening to us.
37:08
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
37:09
SPEAKER_05: So And that allows for brand partnerships and things like that as well.
37:13
SPEAKER_06: But I mean, in the example GT just gave, you got if you had a thousand super fans and they each spend 300 bucks a piece, you got 300,000 in revenue.
37:21
SPEAKER_06: So that's your revenue right there, period.
37:24
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, that's a it's not doing all the other ancillary things that could come from it.
37:29
SPEAKER_06: Like I get shows or booked or somebody wants to advertise on my YouTube channel or whatever.
37:38
SPEAKER_06: So that's just straight up revenue.
37:40
SPEAKER_06: So that's pretty direct.
37:41
SPEAKER_04: I mean Yeah.
37:42
SPEAKER_04: It's a direct revenue line.
37:44
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
37:44
SPEAKER_04: That that then also accelerates all kinds of other new revenue.
37:47
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, creates other opportunities for you in the process.
37:50
SPEAKER_06: Yes.
37:51
SPEAKER_06: Makes sense.
37:51
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, and that's exactly how it works.
37:53
SPEAKER_05: And the streaming, as we all know, people don't make any money from that.
37:57
SPEAKER_05: So streaming is now like your your mini commercial.
38:00
SPEAKER_04: And you play a record, I mean, it's about trying to Yeah, it's about trying to get fans based on the So define streaming for our listeners and even for me a little bit, because I think it's seems like it's a kind of a in general term, streaming, like Netflix streaming.
38:15
SPEAKER_06: It's Pandora and Spotify are the biggest is that what that means?
38:18
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
38:18
SPEAKER_06: And Apple Music.
38:20
SPEAKER_06: Apple Music.
38:21
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, the the short version is DSPs, which is digital streaming platforms.
38:25
SPEAKER_00: That refers to Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, uh, Amazon Music, YouTube music.
38:30
SPEAKER_00: You also have TikTok music coming out soon.
38:32
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, TikTok music.
38:35
SPEAKER_06: There's a million of them, but you're talking the bickies.
38:37
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
38:38
SPEAKER_06: Sure.
38:38
SPEAKER_06: So that's the strength.
38:40
SPEAKER_06: Every time somebody listens to that song, they get paid a little bit.
38:43
SPEAKER_06: A fraction.
38:44
SPEAKER_04: Because the platforms get paid a bigger fraction.
38:47
SPEAKER_04: A lot bigger.
38:48
SPEAKER_00: And the the bigger, the biggest artists on the platform are getting the most cut from the pool.
38:53
SPEAKER_04: So okay, because they're negotiating a 50-50 split versus the record.
38:59
SPEAKER_06: Well, it's the between with it's not a split per se because people pay per month.
39:04
SPEAKER_06: You see what I mean?
39:05
SPEAKER_06: You pay so much per month to be on Pandora and you can listen to anything you want, or so much per month on Spotify.
39:11
SPEAKER_06: It's not a download where you own the song now.
39:15
SPEAKER_06: Right.
39:15
SPEAKER_06: That's a different of the$9.99 per month.
39:19
SPEAKER_06: No, it's a it's just uh it's just a uh a payment per play.
39:24
SPEAKER_06: It has nothing to do with the$9.99.
39:26
SPEAKER_06: That's separate.
39:27
SPEAKER_06: You see what I mean?
39:28
SPEAKER_06: Yep.
39:28
SPEAKER_06: So like you might get like a half a cent every time that somebody plays your song.
39:32
SPEAKER_06: That'd be nice if they got it.
39:34
SPEAKER_06: It's not that much.
39:35
SPEAKER_06: I look at my daughter's, and like today her account balance was three dollars and fifty-three cents from streaming.
39:41
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
39:41
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
39:42
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
39:42
SPEAKER_06: I mean, so it's hard.
39:44
SPEAKER_05: You're never gonna get rich from streaming.
39:46
SPEAKER_06: No, so that would be like, you know, a thousand downloads during a period and you get three dollars and fifty-three cents or something.
39:52
SPEAKER_05: So that sounds about right, do you?
39:54
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
39:55
SPEAKER_05: That is correct.
39:57
SPEAKER_05: So therefore, if you sell a piece of vinyl for 50 bucks, you made a whole lot more money.
40:04
SPEAKER_06: That's right.
40:05
SPEAKER_06: So I mean, it's yeah, that's a whole different deal there.
40:08
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
40:08
SPEAKER_06: So I never thought about that.
40:10
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, so that's this whole streaming thing then has been a quite the disruption in the music industry.
40:16
SPEAKER_04: Oh god, yes.
40:17
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
40:17
SPEAKER_04: It's been terrible for the music for the artists, for the artists.
40:21
SPEAKER_04: It's been good and bad in the city.
40:24
SPEAKER_04: Well, what's been good then?
40:25
SPEAKER_04: What's been good?
40:26
SPEAKER_04: I mean I think the bad's pretty obvious, right?
40:28
SPEAKER_04: Cuts, yeah.
40:30
SPEAKER_00: I would say streaming has allowed you to literally like listen to your favorite artist anywhere you want, whenever you want.
40:37
SPEAKER_06: Oh, we love it.
40:37
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
40:38
SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, for sure.
40:39
SPEAKER_00: Like the consumers think it's great.
40:41
SPEAKER_00: But from the artist standpoint, yeah, it's not the best.
40:44
SPEAKER_00: Uh is there any pros though for for an artist about the whole streaming in uh I would say if you're a bigger artist that has more streams and more followers on Spotify, that's just another way for you to make even the smallest amount of money, more money.
40:58
SPEAKER_00: I know on Spotify they have like all these other features on their app where it's like you can sell merch through there, you can tell people about your shows through there, you can also do like little thank you videos, like hey guys, like personalized little videos for your fans.
41:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, I know sometimes I get like alerts from Spotify, it's like, hey, so and so has a gift for you for listening to their new album.
41:18
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, oh wow.
41:19
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
41:19
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's like things like that where they you can personalize the experience even more, and you're not even really talking to your they're just listening to you.
41:27
SPEAKER_05: But um the other thing is also the gatekeepers are now gone.
41:32
SPEAKER_05: I mean, right, yeah.
41:33
SPEAKER_05: We were coming up, yeah, like you had to be a certain person that'll be with a certain label to get that music out.
41:39
SPEAKER_05: Exactly.
41:40
SPEAKER_05: Now those gate, that those gates are just busted open.
41:44
SPEAKER_04: So what happened to those gatekeepers?
41:45
SPEAKER_04: I mean, are they still are they still going strong?
41:48
SPEAKER_04: I mean, have they suffered too?
41:50
SPEAKER_05: They now control the upper level.
41:52
SPEAKER_05: So they went up a level, so now it's harder to get to the major, major money because those gatekeepers just went up to that level.
42:00
SPEAKER_05: What does it mean?
42:01
SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's like it basically means like there's Beyoncé and then there's the small artists.
42:07
SPEAKER_00: Like there's really nothing.
42:08
SPEAKER_04: It's hard to uh so it's hard.
42:10
SPEAKER_04: There's uh the middle class, so to speak, of artists.
42:18
SPEAKER_00: If you are a mid-size to Yeah, that's 17th four.
42:25
SPEAKER_04: If y'all were cutting your own music, right?
42:27
SPEAKER_04: I mean that that's kind of a would that be like a mid-size group, would you say an artist group?
42:33
SPEAKER_05: We would have definitely been a mid-sized group, which we did cut our own record, but what we did, which was different, is we actually played our music in our show live for one year.
42:45
SPEAKER_05: We'd I told these guys after we produced a record, we're gonna do 365 days, and we're not gonna tell a soul who this artist is.
42:54
SPEAKER_05: So we would play in our show cover songs, we'd play Nelly and play all of these hip-hop songs, and everybody would be going nuts, and we'd slide in one of our original songs right behind him, and everybody's still dancing and having a good time.
43:08
SPEAKER_05: And then for one year, we played these songs until we got basically through the whole entire album.
43:15
SPEAKER_05: Then we had the album manufactured, and then we sold the album at the shows by saying, You remember that song, Throw Your Back Out?
43:22
SPEAKER_05: That's ours.
43:23
SPEAKER_05: And everyone it was amazing.
43:26
SPEAKER_05: And so we were able to sell so many records, and we weren't even pursuing radio because we had so many tour dates that it was like we don't need radio, which is what's happening now with a lot of current artists.
43:40
SPEAKER_05: It's a lot of artists that aren't on the radio right now that are making a yeah, that are making a killing because of tours, because of tours and and then you now the floodgates being open, social media and everything.
43:52
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
43:53
SPEAKER_06: If I wanted to pay a DJ, uh radio DJ, not your DJing.
44:00
SPEAKER_06: Not a lot of DJing.
44:02
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
44:02
SPEAKER_06: Um, to play my um daughter's music.
44:06
SPEAKER_06: Would there be people that would take money from you for that?
44:08
SPEAKER_06: Is that ethical?
44:09
SPEAKER_06: Is it no illegal?
44:11
SPEAKER_06: It's okay.
44:12
SPEAKER_06: Illegal to what?
44:13
SPEAKER_06: To pay a DJ?
44:14
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, a radio DJ to play your music.
44:17
SPEAKER_06: I didn't know.
44:17
SPEAKER_06: That's why I asked.
44:18
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
44:19
SPEAKER_06: But I can go buy ads on the same radio station.
44:22
SPEAKER_06: Sure can.
44:22
SPEAKER_06: Yep.
44:23
SPEAKER_06: So that's how you kind of get around that.
44:26
SPEAKER_04: So you would go you could go develop an ad and and have an ad for your daughter to promote to the listeners, but you can't pay the DJ to play the song.
44:36
SPEAKER_05: Correct.
44:37
SPEAKER_05: Huh.
44:38
SPEAKER_05: Now, if he plays that song after you spent some money on some ads, that's different.
44:44
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
44:44
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
44:45
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
44:45
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
44:46
SPEAKER_06: That makes sense.
44:47
SPEAKER_06: It's kind of like an advertorial.
44:50
SPEAKER_06: You know, it's like you buy an ad in our magazine and we'll write a real nice article on you.
44:54
SPEAKER_06: That's I always love the PR people who did that.
44:57
SPEAKER_06: It's like pay us$2,500 a month and we'll get you in print.
45:00
SPEAKER_06: And then good news, you're going to be in the business journal.
45:05
SPEAKER_06: All we need is a$3,500 full page ad, and then we'll get your article, uh, an article on you in there.
45:12
SPEAKER_06: That's pretty much how it's kind of like that, is what you're saying.
45:15
SPEAKER_04: Those gates.
45:16
SPEAKER_04: So can we go back to the big to the big record labels, right?
45:19
SPEAKER_04: Sure.
45:20
SPEAKER_04: Who are the big thought labels?
45:22
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, who are first of all who are Sony or Sony Universal.
45:27
SPEAKER_05: MCA?
45:27
SPEAKER_05: Is MCA somewhere?
45:29
SPEAKER_05: MCA is not around, I don't think, anymore.
45:33
SPEAKER_05: I don't think so.
45:34
SPEAKER_05: But it's just Sony.
45:35
SPEAKER_02: Virgin Records.
45:36
SPEAKER_05: Virgin Records.
45:37
SPEAKER_05: Universal and like the three big ones are Sony Universal and uh I missed the third one.
45:45
SPEAKER_05: RCA?
45:45
SPEAKER_05: You said RCA, right?
45:47
SPEAKER_00: RCA is the third biggest one.
45:49
SPEAKER_04: It's not I don't think they're one of the biggest so so but but when those big ones moved up a level after streaming streaming literally disrupted that entire industry, right?
45:58
SPEAKER_04: It killed it.
46:01
SPEAKER_04: So they moved up a level.
46:02
SPEAKER_04: So that means like they're booking, they own Beyonce rights to Beyonce songs, and they're probably pouring millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars behind that artist, and they're booking tours and shows and doing tickets and merch.
46:17
SPEAKER_04: And it's just at a is that it is that it's a whole nother level.
46:20
SPEAKER_04: It's basically bankrolling and in in fronting and investing in that artist that is significant.
46:26
SPEAKER_04: That's exactly right.
46:27
SPEAKER_04: And the artist just kind of signs a contract and says, sure, I'll take a million dollars a month.
46:32
SPEAKER_04: I mean, if you do all this heavy lifting, I'll I have to show up and perform.
46:35
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
46:36
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's that it that's pretty much it in a nutshell.
46:39
SPEAKER_05: Um, and then they're able to to also control radio, you know, so that's why you only hear a certain set of songs on radio.
46:47
SPEAKER_05: Like for us to get a song on radio, to kill it, it would be difficult, except locally here, we do have a supportive radio station.
46:56
SPEAKER_00: But you know, most most like radio still like Sirius XM and iHeart, so you're not gonna get on there.
47:03
SPEAKER_04: So they control the radio by what means they like say, okay, Beyonce's got a new album, and we're only releasing these two songs from the album that can be played on the radio.
47:13
SPEAKER_04: And then they send it out to all the to the to all the big radio stations, right?
47:18
SPEAKER_04: Is that is that correct?
47:20
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that's correct.
47:21
SPEAKER_04: And everybody signs a contract, and then if you play the song, or you can pay me to play this song on your radio for the next year or tomorrow.
47:29
SPEAKER_05: No, you can't pay me to play the song on the radio, but I can buy ads or do different things on your station to encourage you to play the music.
47:38
SPEAKER_05: That's what they were just saying.
47:39
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
47:39
SPEAKER_06: Really?
47:40
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
47:41
SPEAKER_06: And they don't pay for those music.
47:43
SPEAKER_06: The only the the ba the the record label wants them to play the music because that promotes their their music or their so the big radio stations do not pay for the rights to play those songs?
47:56
SPEAKER_05: You know, they don't.
47:57
SPEAKER_05: And what's interesting is what's very interesting is, and I think we just found this out at a music conference we just went to, I didn't even know this, but uh in the United States, we're the only country that does not pay artists per play.
48:16
SPEAKER_05: I mean, I I always thought for years that yeah, I thought we did.
48:20
SPEAKER_05: But what they don't pay artists per play.
48:23
SPEAKER_05: So um there's they're trying to, you know, raise legislation up for radio stations to pay.
48:30
SPEAKER_05: Because there's like uh there's so many royalties in Rome that's yeah, yeah.
48:36
SPEAKER_06: But the radio stations feel like they're doing the artist a favor, I guess.
48:41
SPEAKER_06: In a way, because they're promoting them, right?
48:43
SPEAKER_05: Right.
48:43
SPEAKER_05: And then the other crazy thing is, is in other countries they don't pay American artists because American artists don't pay them.
48:53
SPEAKER_05: Radio stations meaning they don't pay us because we we don't pay to play then they don't pay.
49:00
SPEAKER_05: So they d they they don't pay us.
49:02
SPEAKER_05: So the European radio stations get paid to play.
49:06
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, they pay they pay their artists to play music.
49:11
SPEAKER_05: And we don't.
49:13
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
49:13
SPEAKER_05: So they won't play us basically.
49:16
SPEAKER_05: Well, they'll play us, but they won't pay us.
49:22
SPEAKER_04: It's so complex, right?
49:23
SPEAKER_04: But I mean I guess hell I mean this music industry's been going on for a very long time.
49:28
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's one of those things that's like just I mean, it's an old communication driving business, right?
49:36
SPEAKER_04: It sure is, yeah.
49:38
SPEAKER_04: Uh so man, that's that's interesting.
49:40
SPEAKER_04: So on the on the medium side, like if you're talking about the the the medium size artists, right?
49:47
SPEAKER_04: They probably what classifies that?
49:49
SPEAKER_04: Like they currently have are going to shows, they got kind of the super fan fall and beginning to develop, they're getting booked, and then they're they start cutting a record.
50:00
SPEAKER_04: Or maybe they've cut a record, they're about to release their second album.
50:03
SPEAKER_04: Is that what the medium size is?
50:05
SPEAKER_05: I would say that the definition of that is probably more if you're making a living from it, would probably be a good gauge.
50:12
SPEAKER_05: Starting to control.
50:13
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
50:13
SPEAKER_05: Good gauge.
50:14
SPEAKER_05: If you can sustain yourself as an artist and you brand in enough revenue and you can do that year after year after year, you're probably really considered more of a mid-tier artist.
50:25
SPEAKER_05: But again, like Raquel was saying earlier, the difference between a mid-tier and an upper tier artist is so it's such a big difference.
50:32
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
50:32
SPEAKER_05: Um, which is one of the things that everybody's kind of complaining about and and that have issues with.
50:39
SPEAKER_05: But the good thing about that is that still down here on this level, which is the the lower level, you still can create those communities, you still can bring in revenue, you can create your own little pocket of the industry, yeah, and it could be very successful, and you won't even be on the radar.
50:57
SPEAKER_06: You know Well, you you pointed it out.
51:00
SPEAKER_06: A thousand fans, if they're hardcore, they're the super consumer pays 300 bucks apiece.
51:06
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
51:06
SPEAKER_06: That's a$300,000 chunk of revenue for somebody that you're saying may never hit the radar.
51:11
SPEAKER_06: Right.
51:11
SPEAKER_06: Is the bottom line of popular they're on their own radar.
51:17
SPEAKER_06: The 40 hits.
51:18
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
51:19
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
51:20
SPEAKER_05: And so what Raquel's um with her events, what she decided was is originally I was like, well, let's go, let's go get an artist and let's let's do this.
51:31
SPEAKER_05: But then she was like, Well, we're probably gonna need more than one.
51:35
SPEAKER_05: So it's like, oh, okay, so you get five artists that have a thousand fans, then have three hundred, you know, three.
51:43
SPEAKER_05: Right.
51:43
SPEAKER_05: Then you start getting into a business.
51:44
SPEAKER_05: You start getting into a business.
51:46
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that makes sense.
51:47
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
51:47
SPEAKER_05: So now all you have to do is make sure, A, your artist is a performing artist so they can go and do shows.
51:54
SPEAKER_05: B, their music is good.
51:56
SPEAKER_05: You gotta make sure the music is good.
51:59
SPEAKER_05: And C, the thing that that is missing with a lot of people is you gotta be able to follow the technology meaning in the marketing and and uh analysis.
52:08
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I believe the market data.
52:09
SPEAKER_05: Sure.
52:10
SPEAKER_05: All of that.
52:10
SPEAKER_05: Data analysis and music is huge, and most independent artists are not aware of the value.
52:18
SPEAKER_06: It's everything in marketing today.
52:20
SPEAKER_06: I mean, Eric understands all that.
52:22
SPEAKER_06: I don't, but it's like I get these reports and I'm like, tell me what they say.
52:26
SPEAKER_06: And then I don't know.
52:28
SPEAKER_06: How do we increase it?
52:29
SPEAKER_06: Whatever it is, how do we increase it?
52:30
SPEAKER_06: How do we increase it?
52:31
SPEAKER_06: I want the numbers going up.
52:32
SPEAKER_06: That's it.
52:33
SPEAKER_06: Whatever.
52:34
SPEAKER_06: I don't care.
52:35
SPEAKER_06: But so yeah, that makes a lot of sense though.
52:37
SPEAKER_06: And I and I'm sure the marketing is a huge weakness for all of them.
52:41
SPEAKER_00: And you know, even what's happening nowadays, especially with data analysis and in music, is that like the AR guys are focusing more on that.
52:51
SPEAKER_06: You're talking a foreign length.
52:52
SPEAKER_06: A little artist relationship.
52:55
SPEAKER_00: Repertoire.
52:55
SPEAKER_00: Um it's basically a a connect between the artist and label or artist and entity.
53:01
SPEAKER_00: That's the that's AR.
53:02
SPEAKER_00: Is that an agent?
53:03
SPEAKER_05: Uh manager?
53:05
SPEAKER_05: He normally works for the label.
53:07
SPEAKER_05: He's just the go-between label.
53:10
SPEAKER_05: I see.
53:11
SPEAKER_05: Of the label.
53:11
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
53:12
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
53:12
SPEAKER_04: Of the label.
53:13
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
53:13
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
53:13
SPEAKER_04: Well, it's a it's a title, it's a position at the record label.
53:16
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
53:16
SPEAKER_03: Sorry.
53:17
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
53:17
SPEAKER_00: Oh, sorry.
53:18
SPEAKER_04: We're learning this.
53:19
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, loving it, man.
53:20
SPEAKER_04: This is so intriguing.
53:21
SPEAKER_04: Go ahead.
53:21
SPEAKER_00: So that guy, that representative, when when they are charged with looking for new talent for the labels, the labels could care less about whether this person is talented or whether this person is going to last five years.
53:33
SPEAKER_00: They care if their numbers are doing great.
53:35
SPEAKER_00: So there are tons of artists right now that, you know, have millions and millions of streams that will not be like relevant in a year and a half.
53:43
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
53:44
SPEAKER_04: Um But they have good numbers.
53:46
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
53:46
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
53:47
SPEAKER_04: They have good numbers.
53:48
SPEAKER_04: So now the record label picks them up to get those numbers because more numbers, the more numbers for the numbers.
53:56
SPEAKER_06: Let me ask another question.
53:58
SPEAKER_06: Sorry to divert here.
54:00
SPEAKER_06: Oh no.
54:01
SPEAKER_06: Do you all have a specialization?
54:03
SPEAKER_06: Like what if I was a country music songwriter, performer?
54:10
SPEAKER_06: Would um would I go to would you work with me?
54:13
SPEAKER_06: If you were good.
54:14
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, for sure.
54:15
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
54:15
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
54:16
SPEAKER_06: So you're not you're not limiting yourself then to any genre.
54:20
SPEAKER_00: We're a multi-genre.
54:21
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
54:21
SPEAKER_05: Very cool.
54:22
SPEAKER_05: You know, like I told you, I worked with the possum before, so you know.
54:25
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
54:25
SPEAKER_05: That's George Jones, just in case.
54:27
SPEAKER_05: You did say George Jones.
54:28
SPEAKER_05: I didn't know the possum.
54:30
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, but I do know George Jones.
54:31
SPEAKER_04: That's his nickname the possum.
54:32
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
54:32
SPEAKER_04: Did you guys know that?
54:34
SPEAKER_04: I didn't.
54:34
SPEAKER_04: I didn't know his nickname was The Possum.
54:36
SPEAKER_04: I might have heard that a long time ago.
54:37
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
54:38
SPEAKER_04: But I know who George Jones is for sure.
54:39
SPEAKER_04: Sure.
54:39
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
54:40
SPEAKER_04: Everybody.
54:40
SPEAKER_04: Except where Kell knows who George is.
54:42
SPEAKER_04: Doesn't you know who George Jones?
54:44
unknown: No.
54:46
SPEAKER_06: She doesn't.
54:46
SPEAKER_06: She doesn't.
54:47
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, my girls wouldn't either.
54:48
SPEAKER_06: They wouldn't have any.
54:49
SPEAKER_06: I know my late father-in-law almost became a roadie for Conway Twiddy in 1957.
54:55
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
54:56
SPEAKER_06: That was his claim to fame.
54:57
SPEAKER_06: Wow.
54:58
SPEAKER_06: But instead he took over the family Cadillac dealership.
55:01
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
55:01
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
55:02
SPEAKER_06: So it worked out for line.
55:03
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, that's pretty much it.
55:05
SPEAKER_04: So no multi-genre.
55:07
unknown: Yes.
55:08
SPEAKER_04: Multi-genre.
55:09
SPEAKER_04: Okay.
55:10
SPEAKER_04: Why?
55:10
SPEAKER_04: Why is that?
55:11
SPEAKER_04: Just what what's the uh philosophy?
55:15
SPEAKER_00: Well, number one, like we just we just didn't want to do a a singular um genre label.
55:20
SPEAKER_00: Just get locked in to Yeah.
55:22
SPEAKER_00: Um but two, you end up diversifying your audiences and your revenue streams when you do that.
55:26
SPEAKER_00: So and another thing is like none of our artists are competing with each other, really.
55:30
SPEAKER_00: Like they're all in such competition.
55:32
SPEAKER_00: That makes sense.
55:32
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they're they're incredible.
55:33
SPEAKER_00: They're all different different communities that you're never gonna run into.
55:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, getting more attention than this.
55:40
SPEAKER_06: Never really thought about that, but I could see that'd be a problem.
55:43
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, you get a show booking.
55:45
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
55:46
SPEAKER_04: Like basically you could have a there's a festival going on, you could get all five of your artists.
55:50
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
55:50
SPEAKER_04: For sure.
55:51
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely because it's not gonna be a redundant show.
55:53
SPEAKER_04: Right.
55:53
SPEAKER_04: Right.
55:54
SPEAKER_00: We've had we've had all of them have played, and and it's always a Conwell where people are like, We love that it's different every time at each person.
56:02
SPEAKER_00: We're like, that was the plan.
56:03
SPEAKER_05: Yep, that's the plan.
56:04
SPEAKER_05: And we have uh alternative soul, we have reggaeton, we have hyper pop, we have hip hop, and we have singer-songwriter pop kind of kind of things.
56:19
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, so so but it's um I'm gonna take it back to my own personal question first.
56:23
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I mean, might as well get a free.
56:25
SPEAKER_06: 17-year-old daughter, she can't perform anywhere with booze or whatever.
56:29
SPEAKER_06: What do you do with somebody like that?
56:32
SPEAKER_00: So actually, this is something that I did when I was growing up.
56:36
SPEAKER_00: So I was playing in clubs when I was like 11 and 12 years old, and it was because I had a guardian with me.
56:43
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
56:44
SPEAKER_00: You know, you just go to well, first of all, I was actually being axed to come and play at these places.
56:50
SPEAKER_00: So there was that element.
56:51
SPEAKER_00: But the organizer of these shows at these like 21 and up or 18 and up clubs, we would just be like, hey, like, we'll have a guardian there, where Kel's not gonna drink anything or do anything crazy, like have like a specific a lot of times, like I would just be in like the VIP area or secluded area, so I wasn't around any translates.
57:08
SPEAKER_00: I see somebody would see an 11-year-old kid and they're like, What is going on here?
57:13
SPEAKER_06: Um I just wondered about that.
57:15
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
57:15
SPEAKER_06: Because you know, some of these people in the past, like the Tanya Tuckers, they were out there at like 13 or 14 singing Delta Dong through her nose that nasally.
57:26
SPEAKER_06: I can't quite go for it.
57:28
SPEAKER_06: Give it a shot.
57:29
SPEAKER_06: No, it's okay.
57:29
SPEAKER_06: No, no, no, it'll stop and wait for you about that though.
57:32
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
57:33
SPEAKER_05: But but in the case of an artist nowadays who cannot get into the clubs and who cannot do those things, um, it's you very easily just build that audience online through social media, through YouTube.
57:47
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's your way into the clubs as well.
57:50
SPEAKER_06: It sounds harder though and slower, and you can't sell the merchandise and everything else as easily as you can when you got these super fans showing up live to your show.
57:59
SPEAKER_06: That's correct.
57:59
SPEAKER_06: And paying to get into your show, too.
58:02
SPEAKER_06: That's correct, right?
58:03
SPEAKER_00: I would say that's why it's really important to have like a a a hierarchy of of venues, if that makes sense.
58:11
SPEAKER_00: Like here in NWA, I think that's something that we're trying to do where the smaller, super unknown artists can be discovered and and develop a fan base by going to these super small, like venues that are known to have like unique artists and artists that are unknown.
58:27
SPEAKER_00: Like at our shows, for example, like the EDM shows I was mentioning, like none of the DJs are very well known.
58:34
SPEAKER_00: Like people just know that when we put on a show, it's gonna be a good lineup and it's gonna be good music.
58:39
SPEAKER_00: And then they find out about the DJs that way.
58:41
SPEAKER_00: And we always be sure to like encourage everybody to like follow them on Instagram and and look at their websites and all that.
58:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, so how that kind of happens like in a town like Northwest Arkansas is if you have more of those smaller, like low-stakes venues, they can slowly build up a crowd to get to that mid-sized venue, and then eventually a George's and eventually a JJ's and eventually, you know, a bigger, bigger.
59:03
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
59:04
SPEAKER_04: That's interesting.
59:05
SPEAKER_04: So y'all are actually you're not only helping the artists, you're you're legitimately helping the venues.
59:10
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
59:11
SPEAKER_00: Like the the way in which we're trying to operate Love Moore is beneficial to everybody in Northwest Arkansas.
59:18
SPEAKER_00: Like our end goal is like for it to be something that creates jobs and supports a sustainable music ecosystem here, not just in Northwest Arkansas, but statewide, because something that's just known about Arkansas is that we're a music industry desert.
59:35
SPEAKER_00: Like when we went to the music bus conference in Nashville, we were the only people from Arkansas there.
59:40
SPEAKER_00: And every time we mentioned we were from Arkansas, they were like, What do you think?
59:44
SPEAKER_04: What's that?
59:45
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, but they also but they also loved y'all too because you were from Arkansas.
59:48
SPEAKER_04: Isn't that crazy?
59:49
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
59:49
SPEAKER_04: You all get that?
59:50
SPEAKER_04: I'm like, I'm live in Arkansas.
59:51
SPEAKER_04: They're like, Oh, tell me more about that place.
59:55
SPEAKER_04: Like, do y'all have running water then?
59:56
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, yeah.
59:57
SPEAKER_04: And I'm like, not really.
1:00:00
SPEAKER_06: But we uh yeah.
1:00:01
SPEAKER_06: I would say, yeah, got a seaman pond too.
1:00:05
SPEAKER_06: You know?
1:00:07
SPEAKER_04: So dude artist fatigue.
1:00:09
SPEAKER_04: Does that happen?
1:00:10
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
1:00:11
SPEAKER_04: Oh yeah.
1:00:12
SPEAKER_00: Especially probably more than ever it happens.
1:00:16
SPEAKER_04: Um, because just run from place to place, playing all, I would think.
1:00:19
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and not even like the live, like the the physical, like live aspect of it, but just like the marketing and the booking and the I mean, we were talking to one artist that was a potential Lamora artist, and they were like, we can't do it anymore.
1:00:34
SPEAKER_00: We cannot manage ourselves and and do all this by ourselves because we also have to rehearse and create music and practice, you know, like it was so they're coming to you to help with that.
1:00:44
SPEAKER_05: Sure.
1:00:46
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:00:47
SPEAKER_05: And then we come up with strategies for marketing and then just putting the product out, recording the records.
1:00:53
SPEAKER_05: We listen to all of the demos.
1:00:55
SPEAKER_06: Um back on a on a qu money question.
1:01:00
SPEAKER_06: Do you charge these artists for your services or do you just simply bet on the ones that you think you're willing to invest in and then recoup it later through the the sales?
1:01:11
SPEAKER_05: It's more of that model.
1:01:12
SPEAKER_05: Um the latter model.
1:01:14
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, the latter model where kind of you find those people that are that are you're taking risks then with your time and and your money.
1:01:21
SPEAKER_05: Sure, but not a not a big one.
1:01:22
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
1:01:23
SPEAKER_05: I mean, again, most of these people, we don't just find them like yesterday and then you know, work with them today.
1:01:29
SPEAKER_05: Uh it's like we've watched them play.
1:01:31
SPEAKER_05: We've really heard their music, we've, you know, it's it's some research.
1:01:35
SPEAKER_05: It's some ID before you, you know, actually sign with them or or and and in our case, what we're trying to do is really create a new industry model.
1:01:45
SPEAKER_05: So our situation is not where we pay them or they pay us, it's a partnership.
1:01:51
SPEAKER_05: I see.
1:01:52
SPEAKER_05: And it's it's an equal partnership, is what we're trying to build, not like what the current industry is, where they give you a ton of money and they basically own everything that you do.
1:02:02
SPEAKER_05: Um, we're trying to, you know, create an equitable situation for the artists and encourage everybody on the team to work.
1:02:11
SPEAKER_05: The great thing about having someone, Raquel's um age and and genius locally.
1:02:18
SPEAKER_05: She understands the marketing today.
1:02:20
SPEAKER_05: Well, she understands the marketing.
1:02:20
SPEAKER_05: That's gotta be helpful.
1:02:22
SPEAKER_05: But she's not also not tainted by the rest of the industry.
1:02:26
SPEAKER_05: I know everything that was going on and how the rest of the industry was built.
1:02:30
SPEAKER_05: Right, I get it.
1:02:31
SPEAKER_05: So she's like, well, that doesn't make any sense.
1:02:34
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, why would you do that?
1:02:35
SPEAKER_03: Let her freely think.
1:02:36
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:02:37
SPEAKER_05: But I mean, like, you take some exposure.
1:02:40
SPEAKER_05: I'm amazed that that the industry has gotten away with this for years and years and years.
1:02:44
SPEAKER_05: But the industry would give an artist, let's say they give him a million dollars, right?
1:02:49
SPEAKER_05: Okay.
1:02:50
SPEAKER_05: As an advance, and then the artist has to pay that back.
1:02:55
SPEAKER_05: Well, they're splitting the revenue, the label and the artist.
1:02:59
SPEAKER_05: They're both splitting that revenue.
1:03:01
SPEAKER_05: So the artist has to pay that million back out of their percentage of that split.
1:03:06
SPEAKER_05: Right.
1:03:07
SPEAKER_06: Then after that's paid back, then they start to make some money.
1:03:10
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, then they start to make some money.
1:03:11
SPEAKER_05: But in the middle of that, the label gives them more money.
1:03:15
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
1:03:15
SPEAKER_02: I say, Yeah, yeah, yeah.
1:03:17
SPEAKER_05: So they keep them indebted in a way.
1:03:18
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
1:03:19
SPEAKER_04: Then guess who owns the rights to the music, right?
1:03:22
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
1:03:22
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
1:03:22
SPEAKER_04: The label.
1:03:23
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
1:03:23
SPEAKER_04: Well, that's exactly what happens.
1:03:25
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, that makes total sense.
1:03:27
SPEAKER_04: That's very interesting.
1:03:27
SPEAKER_04: So it's like a business that I was trying to get Mark into.
1:03:30
SPEAKER_04: It's like, hey, listen, I'm gonna give you a thousand dollars, Mark.
1:03:33
SPEAKER_06: But Johnny Jeter keep writing.
1:03:36
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, exactly.
1:03:36
SPEAKER_06: The book publishing business in a way is sort of like that because you have to pay back the publisher for the costs of producing your book before you start getting any royalties.
1:03:47
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
1:03:48
SPEAKER_06: So it's kind of what you just said there.
1:03:50
SPEAKER_06: But you don't get into the actual production of the uh and and you know, arranging for studio musicians and recording and and and all that, do you?
1:04:03
SPEAKER_06: Or do you doing that too?
1:04:04
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
1:04:06
SPEAKER_06: So who pays for that?
1:04:08
SPEAKER_06: The artist or you guys?
1:04:09
SPEAKER_05: Uh well, the artists eventually will pay for it.
1:04:12
SPEAKER_05: But uh, you know, again, with the new model, I believe that the fair way to do it is if I'm gonna make money from it and you're gonna make money, we both should be responsible for paying for that.
1:04:24
SPEAKER_06: I see.
1:04:24
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
1:04:25
SPEAKER_06: Well, that's a more attractive model than for the small artists if they don't have to pay everything one hundred percent themselves, if there's some assistance from knowledgeable people as yourselves.
1:04:37
SPEAKER_06: Give some guidance.
1:04:38
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, yeah.
1:04:39
SPEAKER_06: Well, there's a lot to it.
1:04:41
SPEAKER_06: I mean, you gotta get the right studio musicians, you gotta get the right producer, you got to place.
1:04:47
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, all that is is all critical.
1:04:49
SPEAKER_06: I we was talking with this guy I from Nashville um was at my house uh last week, and he was saying, like, even different studios have different sounds.
1:04:58
SPEAKER_06: Yes, sure.
1:04:59
SPEAKER_06: Like they want to go to what's the one in Memphis that's got the pegboard walls or whatever.
1:05:03
SPEAKER_05: Um Royal, Royal Studios.
1:05:05
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, because like people want it just for that because the sound is different if it's recorded in there.
1:05:12
SPEAKER_05: And Royal does sound different.
1:05:14
SPEAKER_05: I mean, they recorded the horns for Uptown Funk, you know, Bruno Myers big hit in there.
1:05:20
SPEAKER_05: Oh, really?
1:05:20
SPEAKER_05: And yeah, they recorded the horns and they recorded the uh end part of the song where Bruno Myers is doing the chat and all that stuff in Royal Studios.
1:05:29
SPEAKER_05: And if you've been in there, you would think to yourself, oh my god, this is like the worst thing ever.
1:05:36
SPEAKER_05: I mean, it is it is old and but it's cool though.
1:05:40
SPEAKER_05: Oh my god, it's great.
1:05:41
SPEAKER_05: It's absolutely amazing.
1:05:43
SPEAKER_05: All the people that came through there and it's where Al Green cut like love and happiness and you know, all of those hits and uh his the producer, um Boo Mitchell, is now who is the son of um oh my gosh.
1:06:00
SPEAKER_05: I just had his name, Willie Mitchell.
1:06:02
SPEAKER_05: Willie Mitchell produced all the Al Green stuff.
1:06:04
SPEAKER_05: Boo Mitchell now owns that studio and runs it.
1:06:08
SPEAKER_05: And uh so it's and it it does have a sound.
1:06:10
SPEAKER_05: Absolutely it has a sound.
1:06:12
SPEAKER_05: Well, hey, we're at an hour podcast, man.
1:06:15
SPEAKER_05: We're an hour fifteen.
1:06:16
SPEAKER_04: This is awesome, man.
1:06:17
SPEAKER_04: It is.
1:06:17
SPEAKER_04: It went by fast.
1:06:19
SPEAKER_06: It's so interesting because we've never really talked to anybody about this business.
1:06:23
SPEAKER_06: I didn't know anything about it.
1:06:24
SPEAKER_04: Well, you know, it's funny, because I'm I'm sure if we like, I mean, it's just because of the tradition and the age of the music industry, right?
1:06:33
SPEAKER_04: I mean, there's just been reminds me of an ad agency business too.
1:06:37
SPEAKER_04: Like, there's a lot of history to that.
1:06:39
SPEAKER_04: And things have been done certain ways because you just keep stacking, stacking, stacking, and people compete and I mean heck, the people that create a lot of these rules and and ways of doing business are even not even along no longer with us on the planet, right?
1:06:52
SPEAKER_04: You know, but they're the way that they did it continues on because it's just the way it goes.
1:06:56
SPEAKER_04: And that's you know, this new I would say the same thing the ad agency business and about every business, TV, including disruption galore because of the internets.
1:07:09
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
1:07:09
SPEAKER_04: And the smartphones, the internet, the internets, and they don't run out.
1:07:14
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
1:07:14
SPEAKER_04: I have one guy one time at our office, came running down the hall in the middle of a work day.
1:07:19
SPEAKER_04: Hey guys, hey guys, the internet ran out.
1:07:22
SPEAKER_04: Oh.
1:07:22
SPEAKER_04: I was like, you can't run out of internet.
1:07:25
SPEAKER_04: What does that mean?
1:07:26
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah, I don't know.
1:07:27
SPEAKER_04: But he was he was in a frantic too, because he's like, you know, working on something and trying to get some emails out.
1:07:32
SPEAKER_06: Should have sent him over to the Walmarts.
1:07:35
SPEAKER_06: Run down in Walmarts.
1:07:37
SPEAKER_06: To the Walmarts.
1:07:38
SPEAKER_06: I don't know why it's got a plural on it.
1:07:40
SPEAKER_06: Go to Targets.
1:07:41
SPEAKER_06: Targets.
1:07:43
SPEAKER_06: Or Facebooks.
1:07:44
SPEAKER_06: Ooh, we.
1:07:45
SPEAKER_06: No, my 103-year-old soon-to-be mom who turns 103 in September 10, she calls it the Facebook.
1:07:54
SPEAKER_06: Oh, gee, man, that's what it was originally called.
1:07:56
SPEAKER_06: She should copyright that.
1:07:57
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, she should.
1:07:58
SPEAKER_06: But no, it's been very interesting having you guys.
1:08:01
SPEAKER_06: Is there any last words that you would like to get out there to our audience?
1:08:06
SPEAKER_06: Well, I'll say one thing.
1:08:08
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
1:08:09
SPEAKER_05: Be sure if you really want to understand how the music industry really makes money, which we didn't even touch on, which is music licensing.
1:08:18
SPEAKER_05: If you look at the billions of dollars that these companies are spending time.
1:08:22
SPEAKER_05: Own legacy songs and catalogs.
1:08:25
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, it seems like huge money there.
1:08:27
SPEAKER_05: Absolutely a whole nother topic that you can that you can get into is just music rights, owning those rights.
1:08:33
SPEAKER_05: Licensing for like what?
1:08:34
SPEAKER_06: Like buy all Bruce Springsteen's songs for uh whatever the tens of millions that he sold them to.
1:08:42
SPEAKER_06: And then do what with it though.
1:08:43
SPEAKER_06: So they money used.
1:08:45
SPEAKER_05: You own it.
1:08:45
SPEAKER_05: You own it.
1:08:46
SPEAKER_05: So you're licensing for films, you're licensing, you're putting them on streaming platforms, you're making that money, you're making it from YouTube.
1:08:52
SPEAKER_05: Oh no, you can get it.
1:08:53
SPEAKER_05: Anytime anytime anybody forms it.
1:08:56
SPEAKER_06: Somebody owns it.
1:08:57
SPEAKER_06: Michael Jones.
1:09:01
SPEAKER_04: Somebody else, everybody.
1:09:02
SPEAKER_04: I could own some like Alice and Chains tunes or something.
1:09:05
SPEAKER_04: Absolutely.
1:09:07
SPEAKER_04: No way.
1:09:07
SPEAKER_04: I don't even know what Alice and Chains did.
1:09:10
SPEAKER_06: I'll give you some songs, bro.
1:09:12
SPEAKER_06: Okay.
1:09:13
SPEAKER_06: Allison Chains played music, man.
1:09:15
SPEAKER_06: All right.
1:09:15
SPEAKER_06: I'll trust ya.
1:09:17
SPEAKER_06: Hey.
1:09:17
SPEAKER_06: Um.
1:09:19
SPEAKER_06: But very cool.
1:09:20
SPEAKER_06: It is cool.
1:09:21
SPEAKER_06: Anything you want to add in, Mikhail, on your way out the door.
1:09:24
SPEAKER_00: Really, just thank you for having us.
1:09:25
SPEAKER_06: Well, thanks for being here.
1:09:26
SPEAKER_06: No, thanks for being here, man.
1:09:28
SPEAKER_04: Very fun topic.
1:09:29
SPEAKER_04: Hey.
1:09:29
SPEAKER_04: It has.
1:09:30
SPEAKER_04: Hey, listeners.
1:09:30
SPEAKER_04: I can't look at the camera when I close this out.
1:09:33
SPEAKER_04: Or can am I closing this out?
1:09:35
SPEAKER_04: I mean, or did you take back over the whole stuff?
1:09:36
SPEAKER_04: No, go go edit.
1:09:38
SPEAKER_04: Listeners, we hope that you really enjoyed today's episode of Big Talk.
1:09:44
SPEAKER_04: We'll catch you next time.
1:09:45
SPEAKER_04: Until then, stay happy.
1:09:48
SPEAKER_04: Thanks, everybody.
1:09:55
SPEAKER_01: Thanks for tuning into this episode of Big Talk About Small Business.
1:09:59
SPEAKER_01: If you have any questions or ideas for upcoming shows, be sure to head over to our website, www.bigtalkaboutsmallbusiness.com, and click on the Ask the Host button for the chance to have your questions answered on the show.
1:10:13
SPEAKER_01: Stay connected with us on LinkedIn at Big Talk About Small Business.
1:10:17
SPEAKER_01: And be sure to head over to our website to read articles, brow episodes, and ask questions about upcoming shows.